Stanza by stanza translation of Narayaneeyam, the summary of Bhagawatha Purana drenched in devotion by Meppathur Narayana Bhattathiri
By P.R.Ramachander

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Dasakam 61-70 Translation

Dasakam 61-70

“Ramanarayana” translation Of Narayaneeyam By P.R.Ramachander

Dasakam 61 Blessing given to wives of Brahmins

(There were a group of Brahmin women who were great devotees of Lord Krishna. Since their husbands were ritual bound they were not able to see Krishna. So he himself goes there to meet them. When The Gopa boys request the Brahmins for food, they drive them away but when they meet the wives of Brahmins they come running to see Lord Krishna. The Brahmins realize the superiority of devotion over rituals.)

After that with an intention of blessing a group of Brahmin wives,Who were greatly devoted to you , you along with the gopa boys and calves,Went to a forest which was slightly far away from Brindavan. 61.1

Then when time passed in that forest, without homes and houses,And seeing that the children were hungry and worn out,You sent those boys to request for some food ,From some Brahmins who were doing Yaga in a near by place. 61.2

Then those Gopa boys went according to your wishes,And when they requested for some food in your name,Those Brahmins who were acting as if they were great,Ignored them and kept silent in spite of their being well versed in Vedas. 61.3

Those gopa boys returned back sad due to the neglect of Brahmins,And this seemed to be very apt in case of them who were wedded to rituals,And were completely devoid of any devotion* ,For how can they give a hand full of rice to others*. 61.4 *Bhaktha is cooked rice as well as devotion.

Then you told the Gopa boys with a smile, “Go and see the wives of Brahmins,And tell my name and they who are full of mercy,Would not deny you the food that you ask”,And they went and asked them for food. 61.5

As soon as your name was mentioned to them,They who were thirsting to see you for a long time,Were nervous and fluttered and took all sort of food,And came running in spite of the prevention of their husbands. 61.6

They saw you with infinite joy,With waving peacock feathers on your hair,With your cheeks lighted by the ear globes,With mercy ebbing out of your tender looks,And keeping your hand on the shoulder of your friend. 61.7

At that time when one of those ladies was prevented,By her ritualistic husband by holding her hand tightly,She meditated on you and without any effort attained salvation,And wonder of wonders, she indeed is lucky. 61.8

You received the food articles from them and blessed them,And you send them back to their home, knowing well,That they had come there have a contact with your body,,And also made them have no ill will towards her husbands. 61.9

Those Brahmins became very thoughtful after that,And realized their mistakes and understood the great devotion,That their wives had towards you and thus knowing the truth,Praised you and Oh Lord of Guruvayur ,Be pleased to cure all the diseases affecting me. 61.10

Dasakam 62 Worship of Govardhana mountain

(Lord Krishna stops an annual worship of Indra by the cowherds. He tells them that they ought to worship The Govardhana mountain which provides food for them as well as the cows and also the Brahmins who bless them. They agree to the proposal and carry out the wishes of Lord Krishna. This angers Devendra.)

Oh God who was born in the clan of Surasena,Once you saw the Gopas collecting things to perform a Yaga,And deciding to put an end to the pride of Indra,In spite of knowing all about it asked Nanda and others, “Oh father , What you all preparing for? 62.1

Then Nanda gopa told you , “Son, We do a Yaga to please Indra every year,So that Indra will, bless us with comfort of copious rains,For humans depend on rain for all their requirements ,And specially for us you know cows grow up with water and grass.” 62.2

Oh God , hearing these words of your father , you told him sweetly,“ No , I do not agree that Indra is responsible for the rain,For it is the good deeds of beings that is responsible for rain,And what sacrifice do great trees in the forest give to Indra?” 62.3

You again told those very good people ,” The fact that cows,Are the great wealth of our clan is no doubt true,And I think that it is apt to give this sacrifice ,To the mountain which provides food for these cows,And to the Brahmins who are greater than devas in this earth,Who definitely rightly deserve our worship.” 62.4

Those cowherds heeding to your opinion , offered worship,To the Brahmins with more care and devotion,And performed a very great sacrifice to please the mountain,And also went round the mountain and offered salutations to it.And you yourself became the God of the mountain and blessed them. 62.5

You also told them, “Do you think that what I told you is a lie?Did you not see the Mountain personally receiving the sacrifice,And I am sure that even if Indra becomes angry with us,This mountain will protect us” and hearing your words,All the people of the entire Gokula became happy. 62.6

As soon as the very much satisfied people of Gokula,Returned along with you to Gokula, Indra knowing that the sacrifice addressed to him has been stopped,Though he knew about you and was occupying high position given by you, Due to the Rajas quality in him , was not able to bear the stoppage. 62.7

He thought, “This Vishnu when he was born as a human being,Due to his showing disrespect to devas, had sullied their honour,And so I shall take revenge against this cowherd boy,”And that proud Indra made preparations to win over you. 62.8

Indra with an aim to destroy Gokula where you stayed, Sent the clouds of deluge to the sky and he himself,Climbed on Iravatha his divine elephant steed,While the guardians of directions like fire and wind laughed at him,And Oh Lord of Guruvayur , who is there who is not bewitched,By your illusion , for all the world obeys your words. 62.9

You consoled the cowherds by the words, “ we need not be upset by the rage of Devendra,Because we have the blessings of Brahmins,And the mercy shown by Govardhana towards us,”And were impatiently waiting for Devendra to act,Oh Lord of Guruvayur, killer of the ogre Mura,Please cure me from my illnesses completely. 62.10

Dasakam 63 The lifting up of Govardhana

(Lord Krishna lifts the Govardhana mountain and the Gopa clan along with animals are kept safe under the shade of the mountain. After seven days Indra realizes his folly and begs your pardon. Then the usual life of Vrindavana is resumed.)

Even at that time , over the sky above Gokula,There was the continuous sound of powerful thunder,Which was rattling all the eight directions,And dark clouds were shining like the colour your body. 63.1

The continuous rains which was falling along with hail stones,Troubled greatly Gopas living in all directions,They cried “ Please save us from this problem created by Indra,”And hearing that , you who cannot be defeated by any one,Told them , “Please do not be afraid.” 63.2

You told them with a smile “Is not the mountain,Which protects the cows for us cowherds , our real God,And I am sure that the mountain will. prevent ,This action of Devendra without any doubt,Why should you have any doubt regarding this?”And Oh God you with your tender baby like hands,Uprooted the Govardhana mountain from its place. 63.3

Later below the mountain which was held aloft by you,By your single hand which was as soft as a lotus flower,Water did not enter because it was the land of soft sand ,And as the water was also prevented from far off,You made the cows and Gopas stand properly,Along with the kitchen utensils they used. 63.4

Though you were holding the mountain aloft,You showed interest in telling witty nothings ,With the Gopa boys and also girls,And gently caressed the calves which came near you,And all this made all the Gopas very happy. 63.5

The Gopas who were standing looking at you,told among themselves” This great mountain is very big,And what a wonder, our Krishna is holding it in his lotus like left hand,Is it because of the power of the great mountain.,” 63.6

Devendra thinking that, “After all he is chit of a boy,And his hands will pain after some time and,He would put back the mountain soon,”Caused torrential continuous rain for seven days. 63.7

Oh God you stood very firmly in the place you stood,And did not move an iota of the distance,And when the water was completely over,And when all the clouds were swept away by wind,Devendra became scared of you and ran way. 63.8

Then the torrential rain completely ceased,And when the Gopas and cows went out ,And when you slowly kept the mountain on the ground,All the Gopas came near you and embraced you. 63.9

You who were praised by the devas using the words,“In your previous incarnation as a great boar,You had lifted the entire earth by your tusk,And so it was not difficult to raise a very small mountain,”Oh Lord of Guruvayur , please protect me from this disease. 63.10

Dasakam 64 Anointing of Govinda

(Devendra along with Devas anoints Lord Krishna as the Lord of the cowherds.)

All the cowherds after seeing and after witnessing,Great acts of yours like the lifting of Govardhana,Started thinking that you indeed were Lord of all,And they again asked Nandagopa ,About what is written in the horoscope about you. 64.1

Your father told his people about your greatness,As told to him by sage Garga and all of them,Developed great respect towards you, And their love to you increased greatly in their minds. 64.2

Later Devendra who realized the truth after his insult,Lost all his ego and pride and came along with Kamadhenu,And with his gem studded crown touched your feet and prayed. 64.3

Then he anointed you with the milk given with love by Kamadhenu,Repeating the words, “Govinda, Govinda” and by this act,Indra was drowned in the ocean of joy and he further anointed you,With the divine Ganga brought by his steed Iravatha. 64.4

When you who were really the Lord of the three worlds,Was anointed as the Lord of Gokula,Gokula by your divine grace got the glory,Which was not even attainable by heaven or even Vaikunta. 64.5

Once one servant of God Varuna kidnapped your father,Who was taking bath in river Yamuna in the early morning,And you who were born in this world to protect good people,Went to the land of Varuna to save your father. 64.6

You then accepted the worship from Varuna who was upset,And received back your father who was returned back with respect,And within no time returned back to your home along with him,And this was narrated by your father in detail to the Gopas. 64.7

Oh Lord Vishnu,, the Gopas firmly decided that you were Lord Hari,And were very anxious to visit your real place of residence,And you showed them this spectacle which is difficult for others to see. 64.8

It seems all the Gopas were drowned in the high tide,Of the broad ocean of the extreme divine joy called salvation,For a very long time and Oh God with complete form,Then you yourself brought them back to this world. 64.9

Oh God , You have not shown the vision of your supreme abode ,In any of your previous incarnations like a fruit in the palm,To any of your great devotees earlier and so you,Who had taken the form of a cowherd in Gokula,Are indeed the manifestation of supreme soul,And so oh Lord of Guruvayur , please cure me from my diseases. 64.10

Dasakam 65 Close contact of Gopis with Krishna.

(As promised Lord Krishna gets prepared for a play of love with the Gopis. This and the next five chapters deals with this play of love called Rasaleela. Lord Krishna starts it all by playing his flute. Those lovelorn maidens come running leaving their jobs as it is and without even bothering to spend time on dressing up.)

Then as promised to the Gopis when they had finished their penance,You decided to conduct the festival of love with them,And in the banks of Yamuna, well lit by the cool autumn moon light,You started playing the flute in a very pretty manner. 65.1

Oh god, hearing the tunes of your music using the flute,Which attracts and hypnotizes the entire world,Which has distinct clarity and quality of the seven notes,Which has very proper cadences which ascend and descend, The Gopa lasses were transported to indescribable trance. 65.2

Those pretty lasses though they were engaged in house hold chores,Or were looking after children or were serving their husbands,Oh pretty God , bewitched by the music emanating from your flute,Left off all the jobs they were doing and reached the forest. 65.3

Hearing the high note that ensued from your flute,They came running carrying ornaments meant for different limbs.But wearing only few of them and came running towards you,But to your eyes they were more prettier than well made up lasses. 65.4

Oh God one Gopi wore her necklace on her hip,And her hip belt on her neck and came towards you,And it appeared as if she was telling you that,Her hips were much more attractive than her neck. 65.5

Another in her great hurry and excitement,Rushed forgetting to wear any cloths on her bosom.Which was noticed by other women there,And it appeared as if she was coming to anoint you,As the king of her unmatched kingdom of great love,Along with two big pots of water. 65.6

Oh Lord , some others when they were not able to come out of their home,Meditated on you with great concentration and kept you in their minds,And left this physical body and reached you who was second to none,As the personification of divine joy and attained salvation,And to me it appears as if they are indeed greatly blessed. 65.7

Those ordinary ladies did not see you as God but as their lover,And attained the state which cannot be easily got by even great sages,And please make me wear you in the form of divine joy , somehow,And without any effort whatsoever and realize salvation. 65.8

Those bevy of beauties from Gokula who stood on both sides,Saw you as one whose face is well lit with a sweet smile,As some one who has unmatched brilliance,And as one who showers mercy by a mere sight,And Oh Lord of Guruvayur who is saluted by the universe,Please be kind enough to cure all diseases of mine. 65.9

Dasakam 66 The enraptured joy of Gopis.

(The session of the play of love starts by Lord Krishna advising them to look after their families and later by talking sweet nothings with each other.)

Though you wanted to fulfill the wishes of those damsels,Who had rushed there having been hit by the flower arrows of love God,You talked to them without any interest and as if to chide them 66.1

You talked to them about the ideal duties of a wife,To somehow satisfy the sages who have assembled in the sky,And though , your words appeared as if according to Dharma,Because you are innocent , your actions did not match your words. 66.2

Hearing your words with a meaning , of finding fault with them,Those pretty Gopis became extremely sad with sorrow and told,Amidst weeping “ Oh sea of mercy, do not forsake us” 66.3

Oh God who killed Mura , moved by their sorrows and wails,You started engaging in amorous sports of passion,Along with them on the sandy stretches of river Yamuna. 66.4

In those sandy stretches on the banks of river Yamuna,Made prettier by the flowing pretty moon light,You sat on the cushion made by the upper garments of Gopis. 66.5

You made that little world of pretty maidens ecstasic,By talking of playful nothings in their ears,By interlinking arms with them, by amorous kisses,And by the touches as a result of tight embraces. 66.6

Oh Lord , Oh lover of those maidens whose mind Was steeped in sweet love, you fulfilled the promises made to them,On the day when you managed to steal their dresses,By erasing from their mind the difference between I and you. 66.7

Oh God who was the son of Nanda gopa , those ladies,Attained great bliss and attained satisfaction of their desires,By embracing the pretty one, whose face was slightly made wet by sweat,And who had a lotus like face decorated by a pretty smile. 66.8

It is well known God, that you are hot like fire* during separation,And full of passionate love during meeting but during the,Meeting with the Gopis you were making their limbs pleased*, And to me this appears indeed very surprising. 66.9 *Pleasing limbs or fire are denoted by word Angara

Oh Lord of Guruvayur I worship you ,Whose mind is immersed in thinking about,Hugging the tall breasts of Radha devi,And please cure all sort of diseases of mine. 66.10

Dasakam 67 Destroying of pride of the Gopis.

(This makes all the Gopis proud because each of thinks that Lord Krishna , who is the God is theirs only. To teach them a lesson, Lord Krishna leaves them along with Radha. Later when she becomes proud , he leaves her also. Later when al of them are humbled , Lord Krishna appears before them again.)

Due to their being able to get engaged freely,With you who was the personification of ultimate bliss,The Gopa maidens were extremely joyous,But were puffed with pride because of that. 67.1

Seeing that all the Gopa maidens were proud,Thinking that “ this prettiest lord who is the consort of Lakshmi,Has been unabashedly immersed in love with me,”Oh Govinda , you simply disappeared from there. 67.2

Oh Killer of Mura , you went along Radha ,A gopa maiden who was not at all proud, And playing with her went far away. 67.3

Oh God , after your disappearance , all those,Very sad Gopa maidens joined together,And went on searching for you in all forests,And were drowned in great sorrow. 67.4

Those gopa lasses who were in love with you , Lamented uncontrollably weeping “Oh mango tree , we are in trouble,Oh Cassia tree, Oh Champaka tree, we are in trouble,Oh Jasmine , oh tender climbers , we are in trouble,Did you see that thief who has stolen our hearts” 67.5

One Gopa maiden saw you in her imagination and excitedly told,“Friend, I just now saw Krishna in front of me,”And these words doubled the sorrow of all her friends. 67.6

Those women who had completely identified,Themselves with you . played a mimicry of your sports,In the shores of that river Yamuna,And when they were further searching for you,They saw Radha who was also abandoned because of her pride. 67.7

Then all those Gopa maidens further searched for you till it was dark at night,And again reached the shores of Yamuna and mingling together cried,And also started telling among themselves about your greatness. 67.8

Oh God who is the ocean of mercy, you then appeared,Before this weeping and crying Gopis in a form with a smile Which was prettier than the form of God of love,Which was capable of bewitching the entire three worlds. 67.9

Seeing you after having lost all hope of seeing you again,Was there any thing that those Gopis did not do?,Oh Lord of Guruvayur , please cure me from my illness. 67.10

Dasakam 68 The extreme happiness of the Gopis

(The passionate lunacy of the Gopa maidens is first described . Then to calm them down, Lord Krishna advices them .)

Oh lotus eyed one, seeing you ,the Gopa maidens,Became extremely happy and stood before you,Like a statue and like the ones who had taken bath in nectar. 68.1

Then another gopa maiden without any bashfulness,Suddenly caught your lotus like hand ,And placed it on her very heavy bosom,And stood there for quite some time,As if she was numbed by the joy that enveloped her. 68.2

Oh Lord , another Gopi with very great joy,Kept your very pretty hand on her throat,And coiled it around her neck,,As if wanting to stop her vital breath. 68.3

Another Gopi who was in the throes of passion,Took away the chewed betel leaf from your lotus mouth,And transferred it to her mouth and ,Attained the fulfillment of her desires. 68.4

Another Gopi who was in the throes of anger,Told you, “You left us all in this dark forest,And do you think any one of us will touch you’,And stood staring at you with eyes full of tears. 68.5

You then reached the shores of river Yamuna,Along with the very joyous Gopis,And sat on a cushion made of the saffron stained upper cloth,Of those women and shined in a resplendent manner. 68.6

Those Gopis told addressing you,“How many types of mercy are there?Some people are merciful on all,And some on only those who are devoted to them,And some others do not show any mercy,On even people like us who have left their all,And then completely surrendered to them.” 68.7

Then you told them all, “ Oh lasses who love me,Please do not suspect absence of mercy in me,Who am afraid of loss of your love towards me,And I did it only with an aim to make your minds,Always devoted to me without break.” 68.8

And Oh Lord you further told them,“Oh sweethearts , hear what I have to say to you all,I do not see any one else who loves me to this extent,And so during these pretty nights, start playing,Without any inhibition on this bank of Yamuna.” 68.9

Oh Lord of Guruvayur who engages in play,With the lasses of Gokula who became very happy by these words,And one who is very much interested in Rasa Kreeda with them,Please save and protect me from these illnesses. 68.10

Dasakam 69 Rasa Kreeda (sports of love)

(The play of love is done with Lord Krishna assuming as many forms as there are Gopis. Even the gods hearing about it from sage Narada , rush to see this great sports.)

Oh God I meditate on your very famous soulful form ,Which was specially decorated for performance of Rasa Kreeda,With an array of peacock feathers arranged on your tresses,With the ear globes on the pattern of fish moving here and there,With several type of necklaces and forest flower garlands,With body profusely fragrant with the sandal and other pastes applied,With the dress made of yellow silk over which a girdle is tied,And with the gem studded anklets with bright rays of light. 69.1

And then when all the lasses wearing all ornaments properly,And with wearing a shield over their high warring breasts,And with gem studded ear ornaments waving over their cheeks,Stood in a circular formation round you,Oh Padmanabha , Oh Consort of Goddess Lakshmi,You started moving round in between every two beauties,And also moved around the complete collection of pretty lasses,And performed the very pretty Rasa Kreeda faultlessly. 69.2

Oh Vasudeva ,Hearing about the very rare beauty of your Rasa Kreeda,Which was performed prettily in the banks of Yamuna along with passion,From the sage Narada who described it from a far away distance,All the devas whose curiosity was raised very high,Along with several beauties who had dressed and ornamented well,Came very speedily from heaven at the same time and stood in the sky. 69.3

Oh Devotees please pray the passionate outburst of Rasa Kreeda,Which was done with the sweet songs sung along with the music of the flute,And the very slow and regular pretty steps and hand claps of the dancers,With the jingling sound made by the bangles in the back ground,With dance steps in which you placed your hands on the shoulders of the beauties,And with the sound of the tearing cloths worn over hip by the Gopis. 69.4

When due to intense competition between them ,They sang the songs sweetly and very loudly,And due to their movement based on the tune,The necklaces and other jeweled ornaments,Occupied wrong places due to the special dances,And those devas and their women folk,Watched happily and showered flowersOn the dancers and were completely bewitched,And they got mixed with you who is divine,And also became very much totally entranced. 69.5

One of those lasses was exhausted due to sweat and the activities,And not able to bear the tiresomeness, with half closed eye due to fatigue,Leaned on your very pretty shoulders and another lass with very disheveled hair,Due to thrill of joy that ran all over her body, profusely kissed your arm,Which was fragrant due to concentrated application of sandal paste. 69.6

Another Gopi due to the good things that she has done ,When her ear rings waved , pressed her cheek against yours,And enjoyed the water from your mouth mixed with betel nut,And like that, these maidens having got control over you,Who is the playground of the Goddess and one who is very pretty,Attained the intoxication that they have never experienced. 69.7

Oh God slowly the music stopped and the dance also stopped,And those Gopis enjoyed you completely without music and drums,Started dancing in that gathering and not only that,They were not completely aware of their dress,Or tying of their hair or using cloth to hide their breasts,And all the planets and stars seeing this stood still. What more can I say? 69.8

After that ,Oh Lord you blessed the entire world with a great joyous state,And also stopped the love sports and those beautiful Gopis ,Who were more pretty due to their body being covered with sweat ,Due to the great effort involved in the dance sport of Rasa Kreeda,And whose mind was not able to tolerate their demands of passion,And who were blessed due to the good acts they have done,Were satisfied by sufficient passionate love play by you,When you assumed as many forms as there were Gopis. 69.9

Oh God, you engaged yourself in several types of love play,With those damsels who were cherished and fondled with love,In the waters of the river Yamuna with extreme prettiness,And not only that you also took these damsels to the forests,Which was made mind stealing by the cool breeze there,And which was full of scents of various types of flowers,And engaged yourself in amorous dalliance in those shades. 69.10

Oh treasure of all that is attractive , like this you spent the entire night,And bestowed on those Gopika lasses the happiness that could only be got,By those very great yogis and which was indefinable,And created a fame for them even among Gods like Shiva and Brahma,And oh God who has a form which can be understood only by devotees,Oh very pretty one, Oh Lord Krishna, please protect me always. 69.11

Dasakam 70 Redemption from curse of Sudharsana, killing of Shankha chooda And killing of Arishta.

(Redemtion from curse of of Sudarshana who was cursed to be a python and killing Shanka Chooda , the servent of Lord Khubera and Arishta who came in the form of a bull)

When you were living like this entertaining your sweethearts,The Gopas went to the Shiva temple in Ambika vana along with you,And celebrated the divine festival there and when it became dark slept soundly there,And then one fierce python started swallowing Nanda Gopa. 70.1

Then the Gopas fought with it with all their strength and beat it with firewood,But that snake did not loosen its grip and then they shouted ”Save , save”,And fell at your feet and when you went and touched the python by your feet,That Python regained its original form of Vidhyadhara and shined. 70.2

Then he prayed to you thus, “Oh Lord who is wielding the Sudharshana wheel,I am one who is named as Sudharshana and once I mocked at some sages,And they cursed me to become a python and I am purified by the touch of your feet,”And he returned to his home and Gopas returned to Gokula with great joy. 70.3

Once when along with Balarama , you were engaged in sport with women,.A servant of Kubhera called Sankhachooda without bothering about you,Kidnapped those ladies and hearing this , you chased him with great speed,And he left the ladies on the way and started to run and you killed him,And you brought his crest gem and gave it to Balarama. 70.4

During the day time when you were wandering all over the forest with friends,The Gopis who were feeling the pangs of separation from you , thought of you,As the one as pretty as God of Love himself , who played sweet notes on flute,And who was like a drink of nectar to the eyes of Deva Ladies, and wept. 70.5

Then an Asura called Arishta , who was the servant of Kamsa,Who was very fierce looking and was bent upon causing pain,Appeared before you in the form of a loudly bellowing bull. 70.6

Later that bad bull which was making the world shiver,Assumed a form that was huge and fierce,And started driving away the cows by chasing them,And came before you who is the basis of Vedas. 70.7

You made the devas happy by catching by force,And killing that asura who was fear less,And having a safe form but not really safe,Rushing towards you, with his head and horns held aloft. 70.8

Oh Lord , by thus killing the bull(Vrusha),You established rule of Dharma in earth(vrusha),And in the heaven and the mind of Indra(Vrushaa) ,Was filled with happiness and this is wonderful,And you were addressed and prayed by the devas. 70.9

You then returned home along with the Gopa boys,Who were playfully warning, “Hey Bulls,Take care , for this one is the killer of bulls.”And Oh Lord of Guruvayur , please save me. 70.10